These are all animals that, throughout most of Earth’s geological history, lived in a multitude of habitats including marine, freshwater,
and terrestrial. Fossils are any trace of a previously living organism, although invertebrates do not have “true” bones
they do leave behind evidence of their past in the form of shells, molds and casts, track ways, fecal pellets, tubes, and
exoskeletons. Fossil Invertebrates are useful in many types of scientific studies, including pure systematics,
applications in stratigraphy, and the study and reconstruction of prehistoric environments.

The Florida Museum’s Invertebrate Paleontology Collection is largely composed of fossil invertebrates from the
Cenozoic Era (last 65 million years) collected from Florida, the southeastern U.S., and the circum-Caribbean. The
collection is composed of five main parts: Systematic Collection, Stratigraphic Collection, Teaching Collection,
Micropaleontology Collection, and Type and Figured Collection.

The largest is the Systematic Collection, where specimens are arranged in phylogenetic order. This collection,
which acts much like a library, is used in comparative studies and aid in identification.

The Stratigraphic Collection is used in determining the age and type of sediments fossils are discovered in.
Material collected in place is organized by location and stratigraphic sequence in this collection.

The Teaching Collection contains material from the Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras. It serves as a resource to
educators demonstrating life’s diversity throughout the ages.

The Micropaleontology Collection contains foraminifera and ostracods (bivalved arthropods) both valuable in
stratigraphy and paleoecology.